SolarReserve unveils plans for six large scale solar tower and molten salt storage plants in South Australia, but says it needs a contract to build the first one. But will the state government reach for the sun, or fall back on old gas plants?

New energy tender could provide new avenue for solar towers with storage as South Australia seeks new entrants into electricity market to reduce the stranglehold of a small group of gas-fired generators. But the government has loaded the dice in favour of a previously mothballed but now operating gas generator.

Plans to build a solar thermal tower power plant with storage in Port Augusta have gained strong popular support, according to a new poll, which shows a majority of South Australians think the project should get federal government funding.